Illuminative device for projecting continuously changing color designs



Sep 3953 D. c. RocKoLA 29557.94@

ILLUMINAIIvE DEvIcE EGR PEGJEGIING GoNIINuousLI CHANGING coLoR DEsIGNsFiled Feb. 2o, 1947 Patented Sept. 1 1,V 1951 ILLUMINATIVE DEVICE FORPROJECTING CONTINUOUSLY CHANGING COLOR DE- SIGNS Davd C. Rockola,Chicago, Ill., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Rock-Ola ManufacturingCorporation, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Dela- Ware ApplicationFebruary 20, 1947, Serial N0. 729,794

3 Claims.

This invention relates in general to color animation, and moreparticularly to novel means for providing continuously changing colordesigns for decorative and attention-commanding purposes, preferably inconnection with merchandising equipment, such as automatic,coincontrolled phonographs.

A principal object of the invention is the provision of a coloranimation device of simplified construction in the form of hollow,concentrically disposed, oppositely rotated, color carrying memberssurrounding a suitable light source, which presents a constantlychanging design of harmonizing colors to produce an eye-arrestingarrangement which is also interesting, restful and pleasing to anobserver.

Another important object of the invention is to provide a simplifiedmechanism for imparting the desired opposite rotation to such concentriccolor carrying members which is simple to install in any desiredlocation and is cheap and easy to manufacture.

A further object is to provide for different visual effects beingpresented by such a device when viewed from different angles by mountinga simple light reflector between the light source and the inner colorcarrying member to produce intensified or direct illumination within thefield of the reflector and softer or indirect illumination when viewedfrom a point outside the field of the reflector.

Numerous other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparentfrom a consideration of the following specication and accompanyingdrawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view through a color animation deviceembodying the features of the instant invention;

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section taken substantially on the line 2-2 ofFig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a detail vertical section taken substantially on the line 3-3of Fig. 1; and

Figs. 4 and 5 are detail horizontal sections taken substantially on thelines 4--4 and 5 5, respectively, of Fig. 1.

Referring more particularly to Fig. 1 of the drawings, the instantembodiment of the invention is therein illustrated as being mounted upona supporting structure I I by means of an upper bracket I2 secured bywelding or the like thereto and a lower bracket I3 mounted thereon bymeans of suitable thumb screws I4. Secured to the lower bracket I3 inany desired manner and depending therefrom is anpelectric motor andreduction gear assembly I5, the driving shaft of (Cl. 24U-10.1)

which extends upwardly freely through the bracket I3. Secured to thisdriving shaft of the motor assembly I5 is a driving gear I6 in mesh witha companion driven gear I'I. A stationary spindle I8 is rigidly securedat its lower end to the bracket I3 and extends vertically upwardtherefrom. The driven gear I'I is mounted upon and secured to a sleeveI9 rotatably mounted upon the stationary spindle I8 and resting at itslower end upon the bracket I3.

inner and outer hollow cylindrical color carrying members 2| and 22 aremounted concentrically relative to each other for rotation in oppositedirections through the gear train above described in the followingmanner. The upper end of the sleeve I9 is formed to receive a supportingange or driving member 23 press-fitted or otherwise suitably securedthereon. The peripheral portion of the flange member 23 is formed toreceive the lower end of the outer color carrying cylinder 22 andsupports the latter in vertical position. With this arrangement,rotation of the sleeve I9 by the motor and reduction gear assembly I5through the gears II and I'I will cause similar rotation of the outercolor carrying member 22 through its driving member 23.

Rigidly secured in any suitable manner, as by means of a set screw orthe like, to the stationary spindle I8 above the sleeve I9 is a collar24 having a stud shaft 25 extending horizontally therefrom and eithersecured thereto or formed integrally therewith. A supporting flange ordriving member 26 similar to, but of smaller dimensions than, the member23 is rotatably mounted upon the upper end portion of the stationaryspindle I8 and rests upon the upper end surface of the collar 2d. Thisflange member 26 is formed at its marginal edge portion to receive thelower end of the inner color carrying member 2| to support the latterconcentrically within the outer color carrying member 22. As best seenin Figs. 4 and 5, the lower flange member 23 is provided with an annularseries of apertures 21 and the upper flange member 26 is provided with asimilar series of apertures 28 vertically aligned with the apertures 23.Rotatably mounted upon a shouldered bolt 29 screwed into a suitableaperture in the outer end of the stud shaft 25 is a spur gear 3| meshingwith the annular gear means comprising the apertures 21 and 28 in thedriving members 23 and 26. With this arrangement, as best illustrated inFig. 3, rotation of the lower driving member 23 rotates the gear 3l tocause rotation of the upper drivkor controls may be incorporated in suching member 26 in the opposite direction. Consequently, this extremelysimple construction comprises a readily assembled arrangement forsupporting the inner and outer color carrying members 2| and 22 androtating them in opposite directions.

Means are provided for mounting a suitable light source and a reflectortherefor interiorly of the inner color carrying member 2| and forretaining the upper ends of nthe color carrying members 2| and 22 inproper position. This means is supported from the upper bracket I2 andcomprises a reflector, indicated generally by reference numeral 32,having a horizontal flange 33 at its upper end, attachable and securedto the upper bracket I2 by means of suitable thumb screws 34. At itslower end, the reflector 32 provided with a substantially U-shapedflange 35, the upper portion of which may rest upon the upper end of thestationary spindle I8 and the lower portionof which is adapted to engagethe latter in any suitable manner to maintain proper vertical alignmentof the reflector 32. Mounted upon the upper portion of this U-shapedflan-ge 35 and upon a horizontal flange 36 secured in any suitablemanner to the reflector 32 adjacent the upper end thereof, are a pair ofend plugs 3i for receiving a primary light source in the form of atubular fluorescent light 38. As shown in Figs. 1 and 4, that portion ofthe reflector 32 disposed behind the light tube 38 is curved and extendslaterally around the tube to provide a suitable reflecting surface forthe light rays normally directed rearwardly therefrom. The reflectormember 32 is also provided with a similar, but laterally wider,reflector portion 39 secured thereto above the horizontal flange 3S, asshown in Figs. 1 and 2, which is disposed behind a secondary lightsource in the form of an inverted incandescent bulb 4| having the upperend of its socket secured to a horizontal bracket 42, in turn mountedupon the reflector 32 adjacent its upper flange 33. The bracket 42, asbest seen in Fig. 2, is formed as a spider having a plurality ofdownwardly extending guide lugs 43 struck from the main body portionthereof which are adapted to slidably engage the innersurface of theupper end of the inner cylinder 2 I. The outer ends of the bracket 42are turned upwardly to provide a plurality of vertically disposed lugs44 which slidably engage the inner surface of the upper end of the outercolor carrying cylinder 22 to guide rotational movements thereof.

With the above described mechanism, it will be seen that the two lightsources 38 and 4|, each one of which produces light of differentcharacteristics from that provided by the other, are supported by thereflector assembly 32 from the brackets l2 and I3, and that the colorcarrying members 2| and 22 are supported at their lower ends by thebracket I3 and guided at their upper ends by the bracket 42. It will bereadily understood that the motor in the assembly I5 and the two lights38 and 4I are adapted to be connectedV in any desired manner to asuitable source of electrical energy, either in the same orseparatecircuits, and that any desired type of switch control circuits.

Operation of the motor and reduction gear assembly l5, through the gearsI6 and I'I, will rotate the lower supporting flange 23 to rotate theouter color carrying member 22 in one direction, which will causerotation of the inner color carrying member 2| in the oppositedirection, through-the vlight sources 38 andl 4|.

agency of the gear 3| and the supporting flange member 26.

The members 2| and 22, while illustrated herein as being cylindrical inshape, may have any other desired cross-sectional shape, with either ofthem differing from the other in this respect, so long as the inner oneis permitted to rotate freely within the outer one. Each of thesemembers 2| and 22 are provided on either their inner or outer surfaceswith suitable designs in various harmonizing colors. In this respect,these color carrying members are similar to those disclosed in myco-pending application Serial No. 691,155, illed October 6, 1946, nowVabandoned.

Like in said co-pending application, the instant color animation devicemay be mounted in the forward portion of an automatic phonograph, or thelike, the supporting structure II herein comprising part of the frontwall structure of such a machine. In this respect, a suitabletransparent or semi-transparent viewing member or lens may be mounted onthe supporting structure forwardly (to the rightin Fig. l) of theanimation device if desired. In any setting in which the present deviceis arranged, however, continuously changing color designs will beproduced thereby when viewed from the forward side (from the right inFig. l), the light rays from the tube 3S and bulb 4l passing through thecolor carrying members 2| and 22, which are formed of any suitabletransparent or semi-transparent material, preferably cellulose acetate.In view of the disposition of the reflector assembly, including theportion 39 thereof, intensified or direct illumination through the colorcarrying members will be provided 'forwardly of the device within theeld of such reflectors, and softer or indirect illumination of thechanging color designs will be provided at either side of the devicewhen viewed from a point outside the field of such reflector.

The present arrangement herein illustrated incorporating the twoseparate light sources 38 and 4| is provided for use in a vertical panelhaving a horizontally disposed dividing portion between the lower end ofthe reflector 39 and the bracket 3E. With this arrangement, differentvisual effects will be obtained from the upper and lower portions of thedevice, in view of the different configurations of the main part of thereflector 32 co-operating with the light tube 38 and the reflectorportion 89, as well as the different types of illumination emanatingfrom the different It will also be appreciated that the presentconstruction permits of ready substitutions of color carrying membershaving different color designs thereon, since these members 2| and 22have merely a tight sliding fit at their lower ends in the supportingflange ineinbers23 and 26.

While I have shown and described a preferred embodiment of theinvention, various details of structure may be varied without departingfrom the scopeand spirit of the invention exemplified by the followingclaims. Y y

1. In 'a device of the class described, a supporting structure, upperand lower vertically spaced bracketsimounted on said supportingstructure, a stationary, vertically disposed spindle mounted on saidlower bracket, a light source, an intermediate bracket for supportingsaid light source depending from said upper bracket and having a portionformed-as a rellectorfor said light source ary spindle, a pair ofhollow, semi-transparent color carrying members surroundinCr said lightsource and said intermediate bracket and mounted on said stationaryspindle for rotation relative to each other, and a motor and reductiongear assembly mounted on said lower bracket for rotating said members.

2. In a device of the class described, a pair of hollow color carryingmembers, a stationary spindle, a pair of flange members rotatablymounted on said spindle and respectively supporting said color carryingmembers, means for drivingly rotating one of said color carrying membersupporting flange members, driven gear means interposed between saidflange members for translating such rotation of said ilange member intoopposite rotation of the other said flange member, and a stationaryshaft Xed to and eX- tending normal to said stationary spindle forrotatably supporting said driven gear means.

3. In a device of the class described, a light source, a bracketdisposed below said light source, a pair of concentrically disposed,hollow, semitransparent color carrying members surrounding said lightsource, a stationary spindle secured to said bracket in axially disposedrelationship to said members, a lower driving member rotatably 6 mountedon said spindle and engaging the outer one of said color carryingmembers, an upper driving member rotatably mounted on said spindle andengaging the inner one of said color carrying members, said drivingmembers having annular gear means formed thereon in vertical alignmentwith each other, a collar secured to said spindle for spacing saiddriving members :from each other, means for rotating said lower drivingmember in one direction, and a vertically disposed gear rotatablymounted on said collar and engaging said annular gear means to rotatesaid upper driving member in the opposite direction.

DAVID C. ROCKOLA.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the die ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,871,073 Monheim Aug. 9, 19321,964,591 Nanfeldt June 26, 1934 2,205,672 Sawyer June 25, 19402,297,907 Miller Oct. 6, 1942 2,344,122 Bay et al Mar. 14, 1944

